Author Archives: Virtual Farmgirl

Dealing with animal waste is a huge issue for farming operations, large and small. So I’ll be curious to see how this pilot project near Canton, Ohio, plays out. The project, featured in the Canton Repository, marries sewage treatment experts, family farms, environmental groups and local businesses to separate dairy cow waste into liquid andContinue reading “Pilot Project to Treat, Separate Dairy Cow Waste”

I’m not completely convinced of this Trim Pines Farm position that farmers were the “original environmentalists.” I can believe that they have long appreciated nature and the land. And I do believe that farmers, including folks like Mike Yancho Sr. and his farmgirl daughter Christina, can and are turning things around. According to The FlintContinue reading “'Green Farming' Takes Root at Michigan Tree Farm”

I’ve discovered a few Hoosier Farmgirl Heroes mentioned in this Muncie Star Press piece about the CAFO counter movement. The article notes that “Organizers of local CAFO opponents are typically grandmothers and/or mothers who own farms that have been in their families for decades.” My favorite of the bunch is Barbara Cox, a retired nurse,Continue reading “Farmgirls Rally to Oppose Factory Farms”

After last night’s post mentioning raw milk, I looked at more posts on the Net (including posts here, here, here and this excellent story in the Oct. 1 Washington Post with a great anecdote featuring Farmgirl Kitty and her Hedgebrook Farm) and I could plainly see that there is no clear consensus about the safetyContinue reading “To Pasteurize or Not…Raw Milk Safety Debate Rages On”

They have 25 milk goats, 100 roasting chickens, 250 laying hens, six pigs and three shepherding donkeys on 15 acres…all part of Farmgirl Dana and her husband Ray’s progressive “commonsensical” farmstead, according to this piece in American Farm. The all-natural DanaRay Farm the article says, is complete with vegetables, fruit tress and herb gardens… allContinue reading “Jersey Farm Couple Sees Raw Milk as Missing Piece of Biodynamic Operation”

A Virtual Farmgirl thanks to Mexico New for pointing me to this article in Yes Magazine about multi-cultural markets and pinpointing how local food systems “builds health and community wealth.” The story’s author, Gary Nabhan, looks at how much cutting the middleman farmer out of the picture costs a community. It doesn’t have to beContinue reading “A Look at How Local Markets Invigorate Communities”

Check your feelings of inadequacy at the door before reading more in the Intelligencer Journal about Farmgirl Cheryl Rogowski, who not only farms organic vegetables but won the 2004 MacArthur Foundation “genius grant,” which comes with a cool $500,000. While the award usually goes to artists and scientists, Cheryl won because she created a low-incomeContinue reading “Inspiring Farmgirl Speaks at First Ever 'Celebrating Ag's Women Entrepreneurs Conference'”

A unique co-op that both offers fresh foods and supports small farming is thriving in the Show Me State, according to this article in The News and Courier in Alabama. A $50 fee to the Oklahoma Food Cooperative allows you to buy in and sell your produce, locally-raised meat, products or wares, including tie-died clothingContinue reading “Monastery-Fresh Lamb from Popular Oklahoma Co-Op”

Farmgirl Theresa Freund and her family know what it is to be dirty, having found a niche market in repurposing the cow waste on their family farm for hundreds of nurseries and growers. So there’s is no doubt an ideal location for the Discovery Channel’s “Dirty Jobs.” According to this post in the Litchfield CountyContinue reading “'Dirty Jobs' Show to Feature Family Farm”

Sad update about Oshie, who was first discussed in this post. Turns out, despite living long past the time set by her vets, Oshie passed away last summer, the victim of a neighborhood raccoon. Her adventurous spirit and advice to “Greet each day with passion and joy for its simple pleasures,” will continue to liveContinue reading “Tribute to Oshie”